Autonomous Administration: Attacks point to a Turkish-Russian agreement

The Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria said at its annual conference in Raqqa that the recent attacks point to a secret agreement between Russia and Turkey.

The Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria held its second annual meeting in Raqqa on Monday. In addition to the political situation in the region, the activities and achievements in 2020 were discussed at the meeting.

The report of the Autonomous Administration was read out by the co-chair of the Autonomous Administration Executive Council Ebîd Hamîd El Mehbas.

The report said: “Today the majority of the Syrian people are refugees and nomads. The reason for this is the Damascus regime favors a military solution and accepts the presence of the occupiers on Syrian territory.”

The report, which highlighted the Turkish invasion attacks, included the following statement:

"The Autonomous Administration's work in 2020 was disrupted due to reasons such as the Turkish state's occupation of some areas of Northern and Eastern Syria, violation of the ceasefire and the silence of Russia and the USA.

The invading Turkish state and its gangs have committed many crimes against the peoples of Northern and Eastern Syria. It promoted Turkification activities, imposing its own currency and changing demographic structure. The occupying Turkish State ignores international law and human rights."

The report pointed out that the Damascus government followed a policy of destruction in Northern and Eastern Syria and that secret cells were organized and activated in order to disrupt security. The report remarked that the Syrian government forces carried out assassinations targeting Autonomous Administration employees and some Arabic tribal leaders.

The report criticised the silence of the Russian state on the Turkish invasion against Ain Issa, saying; "This silence suggests that there is a secret agreement between Russia and Turkey."

Al-Mehbas stated that they will attach importance to dialogue with the national opposition in order to reach a political solution in 2021, to get the invading Turkish army out of the Syrian territory, to enable the return of the people to their lands and to ensure the continuation of dialogue between the Kurds.

The report emphasized that “We will try to improve self-defense. As the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, our aim is to build a multicolored and decentralized Syria.”

Speaking at the meeting, President of the Executive Board of the Syrian Council Democratic (MSD) Ilham Ehmed said, "We see that there are still obstacles and difficulties in resolving and ending the Syrian crisis because the Syrian crisis is a part of the world system. After the Syrian crisis turned into an international crisis, all states became a part of the global system. Therefore, the Syrian crisis will face obstacles and difficulties.”

Pointing out that the Damascus government maintains its current policies due to the dispersion in the Syrian opposition, Ehmed criticized that there is no progress in the political solution attempts and the constitutional committee and negotiating delegation under the UN do not include all parties.

Ehmed also pointed to the role of the United States and said, "The US administration's policies, whether it is a direct intervention or just a spectator role, were the reason for the prolongation of the crisis. The world is waiting to see what the new US administration's Syria policies will be like.”

Elizabeth Gewriye, deputy co-chair of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration, read the 2020 service report of the Autonomous Administration.